(2002/5763)
The first Pasuk in this week’s Parsha says, “These are names of Bnai Yisrael that came down to Egypt, Yaakov and every man and their household” (Shemot 1:1). Rashi asks why Hashem counted them both before and after they came down. He explains that Hashem did it to show how precious they are. In the beginning of Sefer Bemidbar Hashem counts us again, also to show how precious we are. I think that this Pasuk teaches us a lesson. Throughout our history many bad things have happened to us. However, because we are precious to Hashem, He has helped us, and we have survived. However, if you think about all the other ancient nations, civilizations, and empires, you realize that they are all destroyed. The Romans, the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Babylonians are all gone. All of our ancient enemies who at their times were world powers have been destroyed. This idea from the Pasuk teaches us that no matter what happens to us we will live on because we are precious to Hashem. We must show Hashem that He is special to us in everything that we do. A great way is by making a Kiddush Hashem. When a non-Jewish person sees us doing something good, and that we are Jewish, we are glorifying Hashem publicly, which shows that Hashem is precious to us. We must learn this important lesson, that we are precious to Hashem, and therefore Hashem should be precious to us.